Skinning knife design question...

[amcardon]

Hey guys. I have 1 more piece of steel to cut up and was going to try and get 2 knives out of it... I was thinking about using the following layout - any advice? What should I change? I've never done a skinner before (working on some other knives but none are skinners) and was a little unsure on the grind style I should choose... Flat-grind? Hollow? Convex? So much is just people's opinion so I don't know which grind to do; so what are your opinions ? BTW - the OAL is just shy of 7" so this pic makes it look quite a bit bigger than it will be...

 

[Darrin Sanders]

The only thing I would change would be the width from spine to edge, I would take about 3/8"-1/2" off of it. But design and type of grind all comes down to personal preference. No matter how you make it some will like it & some won't. So I think you should make it like YOU want it. When it's finished you can keep the design or change it as needed on the next one. Be sure and post pics when it's done. Just my .02.

 

[deker]

I'd be a bit concerned about the dead straight handle. A bit of drop in the handle will make it less fatiguing and more comfortable to use.

-d

 

[Edro20]

As long as it's scary sharp it will be a good skinner. The rest of the meat cutting won't need to be as sharp, but then again it's good to have.

 

[Phil Dwyer]

Looks nice. I wonder what it is you'll be skinning, how often and for how long. In other words, what will the actual work load be? I ask because, there's a lot of difference between skinning out a beef or a deer. And again, there's a difference between skinning a deer for butcher verses for a trophy. Of course, small game is another matter altogether.

 

[amcardon]

It would be for deer primarily, just the hopeful 1 per year. I hunt for meat not trophies so no pretty caping necessary, just whatever gets the skin off. I was worried about the straight handle as well. With this piece of steel I would waste a lot to do just one knife so I'm trying to get 2 out of it. I was debating doing the skinner with a hidden tang but I have never done anything with a bolster/guard and don't really know if I have the skills/know-how to do it and have something usable be the end product. If I did decide to do a hidden tang I could bring the edge back another 2" probably...